Three top Wall Street financial firms, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, plan to cut the bonuses offered to their top executives, as part of an effort to show that they’re willing to cut back on what the White House recently called “obscene” compensation. For 2009, the three banks will award themselves just $39.9 billion, down from $44.7 billion in 2007.

According to Bloomberg, “even with lower amounts allocated in the fourth quarter, the compensation costs are enough to pay each employee at the three firms $336,843, more than six times the U.S. median household income of $50,303 in 2008.”